Traveled Supercard

[WeeCountyMan]

Has anybody got this new card ?

 

If it does what it says on the tin then it'll be the best card for travelling abroad.

 

No fees, including ATM use - you will get the exact Visa exchange rate prevailing on the day of the transaction.

 

If linked to a credit card, taking currency from an ATM is treated as a standard goods or services purchase, not a cash advance, which otherwise would incur interest payable from the date of the transaction.

 

Not sure how Travelex can offer this deal which will better prepaid cards.

 

Currently in a pilot trial, I was lucky enough to get one - was massively oversubscribed when opened for registration.

 

All I need now is a holiday or cruise to use it !!!

[suekay]

I applied but didn't get one due to oversubscription

[WeeCountyMan]

My first attempt was not accepted, when asked how many times I travelled abroad annually I entered zero..........DOH !!! :rolleyes:

 

What a numptie - a self inflicted rejection !!!

 

I tried again using an alternative email address - this was accepted in their second wave of applications.

 

Had to wait ages for it to arrive - Travelex seriously underestimated interest.

 

I was astonished to learn it could be linked to a credit card with ATM transactions not being treated as a cash advance by the bank issuing the credit card.

 

That effectively means you can draw foreign currency at a hole in the wall totally fee free - unless the ATM provider imposes a fee, and these appear to be few and far between.

 

The USA is the only place I've encountered ATM fees.

 

Once the trial period is over, Travelex will open it out for more applications - assuming it's successful, which must be a good bet IMO.

Edited July 2, 2015 by WeeCountyMan

[suekay]

I was on a cruise when I applied multiple times without being able to complete the application. By the time I got home it was too late

[WeeCountyMan]

If I hear about it being opened up for further applications I'll drop you an email or flag it up here.

 

On a separate matter, I see that an American mobile 'phone outfit called Freedom Pop intend to offer free deals to certain categories of customers.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/telecoms/11600505/Free-mobile-phone-service-FreedomPop-to-launch-in-UK.html

 

That should upset O2, EE and Vodafone some.

 

Good for an emergency handset for kids, or to keep in the car glovebox.

[suekay]

If I hear about it being opened up for further applications I'll drop you an email or flag it up here.

 

 

Please do, I'd really like one of those cards

[WeeCountyMan]

I'll email the helpful fella at Supercard who has been keeping me up to date and enquire when that is likely.

 

Probably get a non committal response though.

 

No harm in asking.

[suekay]

I'll email the helpful fella at Supercard who has been keeping me up to date and enquire when that is likely.

 

Probably get a non committal response though.

 

No harm in asking.

 

Thank you. Much appreciated

[WeeCountyMan]

Thank you. Much appreciated

 

Hi,

 

Here is the response I received from their customer care people.

Thank you for writing to customer care.

We are sorry to inform you that we have closed our pilot program. The maximum numbers of applications have now been taken. As this is a trial there are a limited number available.

As a result, no further applications are allowed. Thus, we request you to please wait for further updates on our website.

Thank You,

 

Sorry it wasn't more helpful.

 

You could try calling them for more - 0203 503 0945

 

Good luck.

[Little Nell]

We have the Halifax card which works in the same way. No transaction fees, conversion fees and best rate available on the day. So long as you pay the bill when it comes in you don't pay interest.

[Jakanne1]

We have the Halifax card which works in the same way. No transaction fees, conversion fees and best rate available on the day. So long as you pay the bill when it comes in you don't pay interest.

 

I made a few purchases in Spain a couple of weeks ago with my Halifax card and was very pleased with the conversion rate. In one shop they offered me the choice of the price both in € and £ and I took the € (as recommended by Martin Lewis). The £ offered was £14.99 but is £14.12 on my statement. :)

[suekay]

Hi,

 

Here is the response I received from their customer care people.

Thank you for writing to customer care.

We are sorry to inform you that we have closed our pilot program. The maximum numbers of applications have now been taken. As this is a trial there are a limited number available.

As a result, no further applications are allowed. Thus, we request you to please wait for further updates on our website.

Thank You,

 

Sorry it wasn't more helpful.

 

You could try calling them for more - 0203 503 0945

 

Good luck.

 

Thanks for trying☺.

[suekay]

We have the Halifax card which works in the same way. No transaction fees, conversion fees and best rate available on the day. So long as you pay the bill when it comes in you don't pay interest.

 

I've just got a Halifax Clarity card which Ill only use when abroad, but I understand you can also withdraw cash on it. I know you pay interest on the cash from the date of withdrawal, but wonder what would happen if I paid money onto the card before we left the UK? With a positive balance, I'm hoping there'd be no interest to pay. Any thoughts?

[Little Nell]

I've just got a Halifax Clarity card which Ill only use when abroad, but I understand you can also withdraw cash on it. I know you pay interest on the cash from the date of withdrawal, but wonder what would happen if I paid money onto the card before we left the UK? With a positive balance, I'm hoping there'd be no interest to pay. Any thoughts?

 

I forgot you pay interest on cash :o Sorry folks. To be honest, the amount is negligible for the small sums we withdraw. We use it mainly to pay for purchases.

 

Suekay, I don't know the answer to your question.

Edited July 9, 2015 by Little Nell

[Julessmiles]

I have a Nationwide Select CC which I use only for foreign purchases - no commission fee & no interest & very good rate of exchange recently in France.

 

For taking money out, I have a Nationwide Flexplus card which I pay £10 per month for - this includes Family Travel Insurance, Car Breakdown Insurance, Mobile Phone Insurance & various other benefits & I get no charges & a good rate of exchange for taking money out abroad.

[WeeCountyMan]

I've just got a Halifax Clarity card which Ill only use when abroad, but I understand you can also withdraw cash on it. I know you pay interest on the cash from the date of withdrawal, but wonder what would happen if I paid money onto the card before we left the UK? With a positive balance, I'm hoping there'd be no interest to pay. Any thoughts?

 

Preloading a credit card in this manner breaches the terms and conditions of the account.

 

That's the "small print" cover the banks impose - however, in practice, it may not be enforced rigidly if the amounts are not too large and the account balance is not significantly in the black too long or too often.

 

The banks don't want punters to use a credit card so engineered as to be a de facto temporary debit card.

 

I did it once successfully, however if tried regularly I suspect the bank would get wise to the pattern of transactions and (perhaps) suspend the account.

Edited July 9, 2015 by WeeCountyMan

[suekay]

Preloading a credit card in this manner breaches the terms and conditions of the account.

 

That's the "small print" cover the banks impose - however, in practice, it may not be enforced rigidly if the amounts are not too large and the account balance is not significantly in the black too long or too often.

 

The banks don't want punters to use a credit card so engineered as to be a de facto temporary debit card.

 

I did it once successfully, however if tried regularly I suspect the bank would get wise to the pattern of transactions and (perhaps) suspend the account.

 

Aah! I thought there might be something like this. Not to worry, I'll use it as a credit card and my Nationwide debit card for cash as usual. I only recently changed to a Flexplus account so didn't realise there would be no foreign cash withdrawal fee

Edited July 9, 2015 by suekay

[WeeCountyMan]

We have a FlexPlus account and suspect Nationwide are not too keen to highlight the fee free debit card upfront in case they later withdraw it as they did a few years back with their standard account debit card

Edited July 9, 2015 by WeeCountyMan

[Julessmiles]

We have a FlexPlus account and suspect Nationwide are not too keen to highlight the fee free debit card upfront in case they later withdraw it as they did a few years back with their standard account debit card

 

It's all in their - you can do a comparison with all the different cards they offer online.

[WeeCountyMan]

It's all in their - you can do a comparison with all the different cards they offer online.

 

Yes, it's there alright - but they don't herald it in the same manner as they did for their FlexAccount debit card in the days before this.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2010/jul/31/nationwide-flexaccount-charge-withdrawals

[Trishastravels]

We use Caxton card, my Son lived abroad last year and it was an easy way to control the amount of money he got every month! It has one of the best exchange rates around and now we just use it when travelling in Europe. You just load it with however much you think you will need then you can use it at ATMs and pay for goods in store with no extra charges

[WeeCountyMan]

The Caxton card is very good - only possible disadvantage (as with all prepaid cards) is that the exchange rate may improve after you've loaded it.

 

On the other hand the rate could fall and you've gained - swings and roundabouts.

 

As the saying goes, You pays your money (literally) and you takes your chances on such cards.

 

One of the the attractions of the Supercard is that you get the applicable Visa exchange rate when the transaction is converted - and it is around 3 cents better than Caxton etc.

 

Incidentally, I notice Caxton have now dumped Visa in favour of MasterCard - the rate is marginally better I believe.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Isn't a disadvantage of a pre-paid card, that if you don't use all the money on it within a certain time, you lose it?

[WeeCountyMan]

Linda - that might vary from card to card, not sure it's universal practice. ?

 

Would have to read the terms and conditions on my Caxton card.

 

Caxton allows holders to convert funds between Sterling, US Dollars and Euros - and you can refund the balance (minus a small fee) back to your debit card account.

 

The best deal around for foreign ATM usage is the Norwich & Peterborough Gold Classic account debit card - we've had one for a few years, wouldn't be without it.

 

One of the less well known linked benefits is up to £3,000 in emergency funds for accommodation and/or flights home if stranded abroad in adverse circumstances.

Edited July 11, 2015 by WeeCountyMan

[Sheila49]

Yes Linda we had that problem with the Thomson one! We had had it for a couple of years and still had money left on it as we found we weren't using it much. We tried to pay off our onboard account with it but they couldn't take it (different system) so we had to go back to the shop and cash it in before it expired or we would have lost the remaining money. I think things may have changed now though.